The New Kid at Inferna
by Chili99
Summary: Tessa has joined Inferna, and she is trying hard to fit in with the help of her new friends. But when she meets Will Herondale, he seriously annoys her, with glimpses of a deep personality he constantly says shallow things. When people from Tessa's past come back, will Will finally understand her?Will Tessa be able to finally move on from her memories? Wessa!
1. Chapter 1

**This is quite a clichéd story, but please try it anyway! R&R and all that stuff!**

**Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare is a genius; all the characters are definitely hers!**

Tessa walked into her new school with her head held high, trying to look like she knew her way around and knew what on earth she was doing. She went purposefully to her new locker, skillfully dodging broad shoulders and pointy elbows. She threw her new textbooks into the locker, keeping math and English, her next subjects.

Tessa awkwardly walked into the classroom, still trying to keep a high head, and hoping to walk to her seat with no introduction from the teacher; some had the awful Need to introduce the new kid. This teacher had the Need. As soon as he saw Tessa, he smiled and called her to the front, oblivious to her glare.

"Class, I'd like you to meet Theresa Gray, she just transferred to the school and I'm sure you'll make her feel very welcome in the classes you have with her. Say hello."

Tessa let her head fall, hair swinging down to hide her face, as she heard a bored drone of "Hello, Theresa". She lifted her hand in a small wave and the teacher laughed once, his large noise wrinkling with the action, the Need still hadn't been satisfied: "Well, Theresa, would you like to tell us a bit about yourself before we start the lesson?"

No. No, she wouldn't.

"I prefer to be called Tessa. I transferred from a school called Grangerwood, and I'm from America, New York."

"Anything else?" He was really oblivious to her glare.

"Um...I..."

"What do you like doing?"

"Reading." Maybe if she were curt he'd catch a hint? A thought about whether he couldn't catch a hint when a girl was rejecting him flitted through her head, and she instantly felt guilty, he wasn't doing this intentionally.

"Ah, a reader. Ok, I won't embarrass you any more," so he was doing it on purpose, Tessa lost grip of the guilt "you can take a seat over there." He pointed to a seat in the middle of the class, in full view of everyone.

Tessa set her jaw and walked to her seat, after nodding once at her new math teacher. Noting everyone's gaze on her, though bored gazes, she bottled her anger and carefully took out her books having set her bag in the ground.

"By the way, I'm Mr Langly." He smiled, and Tessa nodded again, trying to minimize her speech. Mr Langly talked them through a new concept, and then handed out some worksheets. Tessa glanced over at the person she was sitting with: a beautiful girl, with raven black and diamond-hard blue eyes looked back at her. The girl took in Tessa before looking away, uninterested.

"Hi, I'm Tessa."

"I heard." Oh right, Tessa had already been made to announce that. She didn't say anything else, and Tessa ignored her: she had tried to make small talk, if the girl didn't want to what could Tessa do?

English flew by a lot faster than math: the teacher did not have the Need, it was her favorite subject and they were studying A Tale of Two Cities, her favorite book. It also helped that the person she was sitting next to was willing to open her mouth.

"Hi, I'm Sophie, it's very nice to meet you." She smiled sweetly at me.

I smiled back at her. "I'm Tessa, I'm new around here."

"Well, I'd be happy to show you around?"

"Are you sure? I don't want to interrupt any plans?"

"No, no honestly, I'd love to. Inferna can be pretty confusing, if you don't know it."

"You have no idea! All the corridors look exactly the same, thank you so much!" I smiled gratefully at her, and she returned it.

"Don't worry about it, I could have used some help when I first joined here, people can be kind of intimidating around Inferna..."

"I think it's kind of cool that everyone's so confident, anyway, when did you join here?" I tried to keep the conversation flowing, as the teacher wasn't paying much attention to us.

"Um... about 2 years ago." Tessa nodded, still trying to think of something else to say. "Um... have you met my friend James?" Sophie gestured to a boy sitting next to her. He looked up and smiled. Tessa sucked in a breath. He was beautiful, with hair platinum- silver and eyes matching, James had high cheekbones and... Tessa was staring.

"Um..n-no." Oh god. She was stuttering. "Hi, I'm Tessa." She held out her hand trying to keep her voice cool and calm.

"James Carstairs, but everyone calls me Jem." He shook her hand and smiled at her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed, there will be Wessa in this chapter and I hope you like it! Is it just me or is it the best feeling in the world when someone reviews? Just to say, there will be some Jessa, not a lot, but some... sorry, but don't worry it's mainly Wessa! Also I will be updating weekly, hopefully! Oh and it changed to T because I have this idea I wanna put in later and it's T so yeah...**

**Chili99 **

**Disclaimer: The characters still don't belong to me; all ownership goes to Cassandra Clare!**

"So, what subjects do you take?" Jem asked politely, Tessa looked at him before replying.

"English lit, math, geography, and Greek, but that's mainly for the mythology."

"So you're interested in Greek mythology?" He raised a silver eyebrow.

"Um... well it's pretty much any mythology, but Greek is my favorite... what about you? Which subjects do you do?"

"Um... Music, math, art, and politics."

"Politics? That's so cool! I really wanted to do it, but I decided to go for geography instead." Tessa smiled, and looked at Jem again to find him looking at her.

"Yeah, Jem has always had a love of history, politics etc. and he's amazing at it!" Sophie said, laughing slightly.

"Really? What about you, Sophie?" Guilt crept up Tessa for ignoring Sophie and almost forgetting about her. They were walking down the hallway towards the cafeteria, and there were students all around like a wave, but the young ones were the worst: they pushed and shoved, and never held a door open, almost intentionally slamming it in your face.

"I'm doing English lit, economics, ad math and physics."

"Wow, that sounds pretty intense! Ad math, physics and economics, you must be a genius!" Tessa exclaimed, impressed.

Jem laughed, "You know, you're subjects are very similar to Will's, you're both doing English lit, math and Greek."

"Will?" Tessa pulled her eyebrows together.

"He's this annoying jerk, who you don't wanna know." Sophie put bluntly, and she didn't seem to be joking.

"O-kay...um...Sophie you were going to show me around?"

"Oh yes, Jem do you wanna come?" She smiled at him, and Tessa could instantly tell that she _liked_ him.

"Sorry, I have to go to the music room, but I'll see you later?" Jem looked at each of them and wandered off, after they had said bye.

"So, Tessa, do you want to eat first or we can start on the tour?"

"Um... lets go for the tour unless you're hungry?"

"Great, I'm not hungry at all! What do you want to see first? We have a huge library, beautiful gardens outside, or I can show you how to get around?"

"You have a 'huge' library? Can I see it?" Tessa's eyes lit up, she hadn't managed to go to a library in ages.

"Sure! This way."

Tessa's eyes roamed around the school, taking in the huge wooden beams across the ceiling, and the long windows, making it seem like a church.

Tessa would have replied but she was too busy trying to memorize the way, in case she wanted to go and Sophie wasn't there. She didn't seem to mind the silence, understanding Tessa's awe, as Tessa tried to orientate herself.

When they got to the library, Sophie quickly described the system and then left Tessa to explore herself. Tessa walked in and out of the wooden bookshelves, looking at the comfy seats set in alcoves along the walls. There were huge windows in here as well, making it bright enough to read but still cozy, with most of the alcoves empty.

Tessa looked for the Classics section; she was completely lost in all the book titles surrounding her that she didn't notice someone coming up behind her. She ran her fingers along the book spines and stopped at Dickens, searching the shelves for something she hadn't read.

"Nothing interesting?" A sarcastic voice pulled her out of her daze and she turned around to be met with two familiar icy-blue eyes. They left her eyes, wandering down her, with no shame, before returning to her eyes and she instantly turned defensive.

"Excuse me?" She stopped her eyes from leaving his, forcing herself to meet his gaze.

"Well, you've been looking through the shelves for 30 minutes now and haven't pulled anything out, I just assumed..." He smirked, annoyingly.

"I'm looking for something I haven't read. How long have you been there?" She tried to be curt, and bristled when he smirked again.

"So, you've read all of Dickens?" He sounded skeptic, and she rolled her eyes.

"You didn't answer my question."

"And you didn't answer mine."

"I asked first."

"Great, you can answer first. You know what they say, ladies first." Tessa bristled again, and turned away, looking at the shelves again. "Have you read 'Little Women'?" She ignored him. Who hadn't read that? "What about 'Great Expectations'?" That's it.

"You're kidding, right? Who in the world hasn't read those books? Except you, of course, you probably read things like 'The Ugly Ducking'."

"Of course I haven't read that book, I'm not a violent person. Gosh, what's wrong with you?"

"'Violent person'?"

"Only violent people read books about killer animals."

Tessa's jaw fell, and then snapped back as she tried not to laugh. "Ducks? Killer animals? Do you have quackophobia or something?" He snorted, amusement dancing in his eyes. Thankfully, Sophie came to her rescue.

"Tessa, I see you've met William?"

"Oh," Tessa laughed. "Of course, I've heard a lot about you."

Will smirked. "Of course, you have. Everyone is always talking about me." Tessa rolled her eyes, "You can call me Will."


	3. Chapter 3

**Please keep reviewing! Also my updates will probably slow down as I'm going back to school soon! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed:**

**To A****, I'm glad you liked the quackophobia thing! I wasn't that sure about it! Xx **

**Thanks to WessaRules or JessaRules****, I'm really glad you liked both the scenes, and I will do my best to include more Sessa! Xx**

**To Guest****, thanks so much for your support, I updated for you! Xx**

**And to DimitriBelikov2000****, I spent ages on the banter and I couldn't get it right but I'm glad you enjoyed it! Xx**

**Chili99 **

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to the aforementioned genius, Cassandra Clare. **

Tessa slowly walked down the road to her house, eyes on her feet as they rhythmically stepped in front of each other. It had been a good first day, she had met people she could hang out with, and the school library had taken her breath away, she couldn't wait to go back. Hopefully, 'Will' wouldn't be there when she went.

She sighed and looked back at her new school before walking up the drive to her house. She couldn't help smiling as she thought of Jem, she really wanted to know him more, and although she wouldn't admit it, she wanted to talk to Will again.

"Tessie is that you?" Her brother called down the stairs.

"Yes, I was going to make something to eat, you want anything?"

"Nope, I'm fine, thanks." Tessa made herself a quick sandwich and quickly finished her homework, so she could read ahead on A Tale of Two Cities.

She hadn't read 5 pages, when Sophie called her.

"Hey Tessa, do you want to go out on Friday?"

"Um...where are we going?"

"Well, there's this new club down the road, but we can meet up at mine first?"

"Ok, but I'll have to ask my brother if he'll drop me first."

"Your brother? Are your parents away or something?"

"Um...actually me and my brother live here together, my parents are still in New York." There was a pause as Sophie digested this.

"Ok, um... well, tell me if he can drop you?"

"Yep, I'll text you in 10 minutes, bye!"

"Bye." Sophie hung up and Tessa walked to her brother's room, and knocked gently.

"Tessie?"

"Can you drop me to my friend's house this Friday?" Nate hesitated, looking at all the work he had to do.

"How far does she live?"

"Not too long, maybe a 15-20 minute drive?" Nate looked at his work again and then nodded, smiling.

Friday came quickly, as Tessa fell into a routine at school: she ate lunch with Sophie, sometimes with Jem and Will, as well, (who continued to be annoying), and then went to the library by herself and curled up in one of the alcoves.

When Friday did come, Tessa panicked slightly, she had no idea what to wear or how to do her makeup or anything at all! She quickly called Sophie for help, and Sophie was over in the next 20 minutes.

"Hey Sophie, thanks for coming, I have no idea what to wear, and I really need your help!" Tessa blurted all of this out, her panic rising again.

"Calm down, it's fine! Haven't you gone clubbing before?" Tessa winced and shook her head. "Ok, so... lets start with what to wear?" Tessa nodded.

"What are you wearing?" Sophie pulled her dress out of a bag. A short emerald dress came out. It was shoulderless, and the top half was sequined with black jewels, while the bottom fell elegantly to just above her knee. It was perfect for Sophie. "Wow, that's beautiful, you're going to look great!"

"So are you, we just need to find the right thing. So where are your clothes?"

They searched for ages among Tessa's dresses, and finally decided on a grey dress, that brought out her eyes. It was simple: shoulderless, and tight just under her chest but flowing loosely down to her knees after that. The top was also simple: delicately folded so it crossed her horizontally and overlapped. Sophie clapped her hands together.

"Perfect! It looks wonderful on you! All we need to do now is choose you some shoes and do our makeup!" Sophie looked excited, and Tessa smiled. They decided on simple grey, ballerina pumps for Tessa and green platforms for Sophie, and did each other's make-up, quickly running out of time. Tessa had her hair loose, and curled and wore dark eyeliner to bring out her eyes, while Sophie did her hair in a side bun and wore mascara. They both used a pink shade of lipstick and blusher and were off, back to Sophie's house.

"I hope you don't mind, I invited Jem as well?" Sophie said on the way to her house.

"No, that's fine, as long as Will isn't there..." Tessa smiled, but Sophie looked nervous.

"Um...actually... Jem and Will will probably come together?" Sophie made it sound like a question.

"Urgh, that's fine, as long as he stays away!" Sophie laughed, and shook her head. Nate pulled up to her house and asked when to pick her up.

"Tessa, you can stay over, and get picked tomorrow?" Sophie offered.

"Um... I have no clothes?"

"You can borrow mine, and I can drop you off tomorrow?"

"Ok, great!" Tessa glanced at Nate, and he smiled and nodded his consent.

Sophie led Tessa up to her bedroom, and sat down on the bed, gesturing for Tessa to take a seat wherever.

"Thanks for coming over, Jem should be here soon too..." Sophie looked nervous, and Tessa held back a smile.

"He seems really nice!"

"He is. Unfortunately he chooses to associate with bad company, i.e. William Herondale. They're like brothers, it's admirable how close their friendship is, and Jem is pretty much the only person Will treats nicely." Sophie rolled her eyes, and Tessa laughed.

"Well, I guess they balance each other? Opposites attract?"

Sophie laughed, and Tessa smiled, happy she had decided to come. The doorbell rang, and Sophie jumped up to get it, Tessa choked back another laugh. This time Sophie heard, and blushed before going to get the door.

Tessa followed close behind, slightly nervous herself.

"Hey Jem!" Sophie exclaimed, leaning in to hug him. Tessa smiled and just waved.

"Hey Sophie, Tessa!" Jem looked at them both.

"Hi." Will's drawl crawled out from behind him. Tessa looked them both up and down: they were both wearing jeans and blazers over t-shirts. Tessa had to admit, Will looked good in black. Will's eyes slowly looked over Tessa, and he smiled slightly, but said nothing.

As they entered the club, Tessa was deafened by the pounding music. Sophie pulled her to the bar and they ordered four beers, Tessa watched the people on the dance floor writhing and bouncing with the beat, all squished together.

"So, Tessa, when did you move here?" Jem came to stand next to her, and she saw Will glance at her.

"Just a couple of months ago actually, I lived in New York before that."

Jem nodded. "Where do you prefer?"

Tessa hesitated. "New York, I think, but I don't know, it might change. I do like London, but the weather is dreadful."

Jem laughed, and Tessa saw Will glance at them again. "Yeah, London weather sucks. I moved here from China 6 years ago, my mother was from there, so I grew up there, but when she died it was too much for my dad and we moved here."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, do you remember her?"

"Yeah, I was 12 when she died, and we were really close, she insisted I learnt the violin, and piano and she made sure I was working hard in school, always helping me with anything I didn't understand. But I don't remember her death, I don't think I was there, she was in a car accident."

"She sounds lovely." Tessa had no idea what to say, anything she tried to say seemed inappropriate.

"Lets move on from depressing topics... how are you liking school?" Tessa blinked at the sudden change in conversation, and took a gulp of her beer.

"It's good, I know my way around thanks to Sophie, all my classes are good, what about you?"

"Pretty much the same, I'm wri-"

"Oh dear lord, are you talking about school?" Tessa didn't have to look to know it was Will.

"Yes, Will, do you have something else at mind?" Jem asked politely.

"Why, yes, James. I was going to ask Tessa to please stop staring at me, I'm getting slightly uncomfortable." He smirked at Tessa, waiting for her reply.

"Do you really find it so difficult to flirt, that you imply the other person is flirting with you?" Tessa met his gaze, relentlessly.

"I can flirt! I am the king of flirting!"

"I bet you practice in the mirror."

"Only on Saturdays and Wednesdays."

"And the other days... you practice in your head?"

"No," Will replied aghast, "I practice with Jem!"

Jem burst out laughing, "Will, Tessa, enough! Where's Sophie?"

Tessa looked around and spotted Sophie talking to some other girls. Tessa pointed her out, "Do they go to our school?"

"Yeah, they are in my history class," replied Will.

"I'm gonna go join her, see you later?" Jem said looking at Tessa. She nodded and he left.

"Do you know anyone here?" Will inquired, suddenly serious.

"No, except you guys."

"Oh, darn it now I can't run away as well." Tessa rolled her eyes, but felt a smile tug her lips. "So, you sit next to my sister in math."

Tessa's mouth dropped, "She's your sister?"

"Yep."

"Hm. You actually look a lot like each other, are you twins?"

"No, she's younger, she skipped a year in math though."

"Wow, that's...amazing!"

"Hasn't Cecily told you this? Normally she doesn't stop bragging." Will smiled affectionately.

"She...doesn't talk to me a lot. I didn't even know her name was Cecily."

"Ha, she's just shy!" Will shook his head laughing.

"So... what were you doing in the Classics section on Monday? In the library?"

"What do people normally do in libraries?" He raised an eyebrow and Tessa held back a smile, rolling her eyes.

"I just mean, you don't seem like a Classics person."

"And I thought you didn't judge people, we were both wrong." He smiled, no smirk, just smiled.

"I don't judge people! Fine, what's your favorite?"

"Book or author?"

"I said 'what's' not 'who's'." Tessa smiled as he grinned.

"At the moment, Vathek. You?"

"Vathek? I haven't read it, who's it by?"

"William Beckford, you should read it."

"I'll look for it in the library, my favorite is Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities."

"Urgh, really? And here I thought we could be friends."

Tessa snorted. "You didn't like it? How?"

"Sydney Carton is a drunkard fixated on one women, at one point I wanted to whack him over the head and tell him to move on!"

Tessa's jaw fell. "He gives up his life for the happiness of his beloved! Isn't it heroic?"

"No, Superman is heroic, he saves people. Sydney Carton is an idiot."

"I think you've just rendered me speechless."

Will smirked. "It might take you a while to return the favour..."

"Is that a challenge?"

"Maybe..."

"Care to make this interesting?" Will raised his eyebrows but said nothing, so Tessa continued, "If I render you speechless within the next month, you have to...stroke a duck-"

"No."

"Why not? Did you have a traumatic experience as a child?" Tessa asked sarcastically, a challenge written all over her face.

"Yes, actually. I'd prefer to stay away from those untrustworthy beasts, one day I will find a way to cause the extinction of ducks- duckstinction." Tessa rolled her eyes but couldn't bite back her laugh. Will's eyes darted to her as she covered her mouth with her hand.

"Ok, we will find something for you to do if I win, but what if you win? Which won't happen, but for the sake of argument...?"

"You have to... clean my bathroom."

"No."

"Do you have a traumatic fear of baths?" Will nodded understandingly but Tessa glared at him, "Ok, um... you have to find a way to set Jem and Sophie up." He nodded, "Yeah, I like that one."

"Jem and Sophie? Why?"

"Why not? She obviously likes him, it could work out well."

"And you won't, I don't know, find a way to hurt Sophie through this?" Tessa met Will's gaze again, making sure he knew how serious she was.

"Of course not; I'm not the devil."

"No, you're the devil's dad." Will clutched his heart in mock pain. Tessa snorted.

"Now, what will you do when I win? I think I'm going to go with the duck stroking..."

"NO! No, I will not do that!"

"Doubting your 'witty' comebacks, Will?" She smiled at him, innocently. He paused for a moment.

"Fine, but as well as setting up Jem and Sophie, you have to come to dinner with me."

**Sorry for the terrible A Tale of Two Cities conversation, I haven't read it so I didn't really know what to write but I knew they had to talk about it... Review, pleeeeaaaasssseee, every review makes me jump with joy...but I can't jump very high so it's more of a hop...**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to Guest, A, DimitriBelikov2000 and arorainthesky for reviewing! It tells me whether you like the chapter or not, and gives me ideas! It's also really encouraging, so please just review once, not every chapter, just if you liked something or didn't like something, criticism is welcomed... anyway on with the story... after the disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: Cassandra Clare owns all characters...unfortunately for the rest of us...**

"_Now, what will you do when I win? I think I'm going to go with the duck stroking..."_

"_NO! No, I will not do that!"_

"_Doubting your 'witty' comebacks, Will?" She smiled at him, innocently. He paused for a moment._

"_Fine, but as well as setting up Jem and Sophie, you have to come to dinner with me."_

Tessa's jaw dropped, again she was speechless, and Will grinned in response. "What? Why?"

"Because going out with me will be as awkward for you as it will be for Sophie to go out with Jem."

Tessa gasped and brought her hand to her mouth. "So it's not because I'm so devastatingly beautiful?"

"Oh please, next to me no one notices you enough to decide whether you're beautiful or not. Anyway back to the point, do you take the deal?"

Tessa snorted. "You're on. I think I'll make a scrap book with pictures of you and the duck..."

Will glared at her. "I think I'm going to ask Sophie to take you shopping before our dinner."

Tessa gasped again. "You wouldn't!"

Will took a gulp of his beer to hide his smirk. "Wanna dance?"

"No, not really."

"Wow, that was a harsh rejection, what will my life be like without a dancing Tessa?"

"Pretty normal considering you've never seen me dance."

"So you do dance."

"Occasionally."

"Why not now?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Tessa! You wanna dance?" Sophie came up to Tessa, eyes bright. Will raised his eyebrows.

"Um...actually-"

"Nope, you are dancing. It wasn't a real question." Sophie grabbed Tessa's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor, Tessa protesting the entire time.

"Will, help me!" Tessa turned her head back and reached for him with her free hand. She could hear Will laughing loudly over the music behind her, as she was pulled to the middle of the floor, where the music was so loud she couldn't hear or feel anything but the beat.

"I CAN'T DANCE!" She screamed over the music, and leant so her mouth was next to Sophie's ear.

"IT'S FINE! JUST DO WHAT FEELS NATURAL! LOSE YOURSELF IN THE BEAT AND IT WILL BECOME INSTINCTUAL!" Sophie screamed back. Tessa's eyes widened, and she carried on looking at Sophie for guidance, following what she did. Eventually Sophie was right and Tessa lost herself in the beat, jumping, swaying and singing along to the songs.

Sophie and Tessa stayed close together, although it was hard with so many people pressing against them. Suddenly, Sophie grabbed Tessa's hand, smiling, and pointed to some approaching figures. Tessa looked carefully and realized Jem and Will had joined them on the dance floor, she looked at Jem and they shared a grin.

They all danced together far into the night, uncaring of who was watching and forgetting the stress of school life. By the time they left the club, Tessa was feeling slightly drunk and Sophie was stumbling with her. It was 2 am, and they had a short walk to Sophie's house. The boys had decided to stay at hers as well, as it was so late and they didn't want to drive.

Tessa walked with Jem, and Sophie and Will led the way, the cold biting into all of them ruthlessly, like the only warmth in the world now came from their very inner beings, and it was slowly being sucked out by the harsh wind.

Tessa stumbled slightly and gripped onto Jem's arm, he smiled warmly at her. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I just had a bit too much to drink." Tessa blushed slightly at his concern.

"Once you have some water you'll be fine."

"Yeah, that was really fun!" She meant it; going to the club had been the most fun she'd had in ages! Back in New York, she didn't... go out much: her parents were very strict, and although she'd had lots of friends, none of them had felt as weirdly natural as Jem and Sophie did. Will, he was different, something about him constantly had her aware of him, so much so that she could tell, without looking, when he was staring at her.

"It was, although I'm slightly deaf now, and my limbs still seem to be buzzing."

Tessa laughed softly. "I know what you mean, I didn't know people stayed up so late, if it wasn't for Sophie I would be curled in my bed with Vathek."

"I haven't read it, I'm more into music and the arts than reading." He said, looking slightly uncomfortable.

"Oh yes, you play the piano and the violin?"

"Yep."

"Will you play me something? I mean, later, maybe at school?"

"Of course, I'm writing a new song right now, and I'm really close to finishing it."

"You write your own songs?" He nodded. "That is so cool! Can I listen to it?" Tessa had always had a fascination with music, and a romantic fantasy of herself mastering an instrument, unfortunately she had never had a chance to pursue it enough to get there.

"Sure, but only when I'm finished." Jem smiled gently.

"Do you live around here?"

"No, Will and I live together in central London. What about you?"

"You live together?" She quickly added, "And I live next to school with my brother."

"Yeah, we're sharing an apartment, we live near our parents so we are there a lot. Before we lived near each other but one day Will suggested we get an apartment of our own, and once Will gets an idea it's very hard to knock it out of his head. No matter how stupid."

Tessa laughed again, and felt Will glance at her. "That's cool, I was going to live by myself, but Nate, my brother, is so protective he insisted on coming with me and living with me."

"Where are your parents?"

"Back in New York, they had work there but they said they should be coming out soon, and they came with us to get everything set up." Tessa quickly made up a lie so he wouldn't ask more questions.

"How old is your brother?"

"He's 24 years old, and he takes care of me, although I'm 18 so legally I don't really need a guardian." They arrived at Sophie's house and quickly hurried inside, desperate to escape the cold.

"Shhh, my parents are asleep." Sophie whispered, signaling for them to follow her. Tessa stood on her tip toes, trying to make as little noise as possible, every creak of the staircase sounding loud, and out of place. Sophie led them into her room and quickly shut the door.

"Tessa and I can sleep in here, and Jem and Will, you go sleep in the guest room it's just down the corridor, first door on your right." They slipped out, and Tessa quickly changed into one of Sophie's pajamas and crawled into the bed, Sophie following soon after. They huddled under the blanket, curling up to warm up.

Tessa cracked her eyes open, then snuggled back into the blanket and closed them. She really didn't want to wake up, but she couldn't go back to sleep. She groaned and opened her eyes properly, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked over and Sophie was still asleep, and outside the sun was just rising. She crawled out of bed, noticing the house was silent: no one else was awake, it was too early. Tessa silently debated going downstairs, on the one hand it would be awkward and she didn't really know what to do, but then again what was she going to do in the room, and she was dying for some water.

She crept out of the room, and down to the kitchen. It was pristine white, with black granite surfaces, the cold tiles froze her feet and she quickly walked to a random cupboard to find a glass.

Someone cleared his throat behind her and she spun around, messy hair flying.

It was Will.

He yawned, bringing his hand up to his mouth.

"Hey Will, you want some water?"

"Yeah sure." He yawned again and sat down, his eyes tired and weary. "Haystack hair suits you, Tess." _Tess?_ No one called her _Tess_, it made her name sound almost pretty with a sharp T and two soft S's, and she smiled inwardly at her new nickname, instantly her favorite.

"And deodorant would suit you, but it's sharply obvious that you refuse to wear any." Will chuckled.

Tessa found some glasses, filled them with water from the fridge and sat down next to him at the breakfast bar.

"So... Jem told me you had never been out with your friends before?" Tessa just nodded, not looking at him, he snorted softly, "Well you are in need of a rebellious influence: tomorrow we shall take the first plane to Vegas, where we will act solely on scandalous instincts."

"Why tomorrow? Lets go today."

Will shook his head, "Sorry, I need at least 24 hours notice to go shopping. I need some new shoes, and some sparkly scarves with matching man bags! Magnus will kill me if he found out I went to Vegas without shopping first."

Tessa laughed. "Magnus?"

"Yep. I know this outrageous bar near his house!"

"Well, why are we going to Vegas? Lets go there and save time."

"Nah, it isn't that scandalous." Will rolled his eyes, as if this should be obvious.

"Well then, what's your definition of outrageous?"

Will took on an informative, matter-of-the-fact voice, "Outrageous. Used to imply chaos, popular and very over-the-top, usually in reference to parties by Magnus Bane. However, despite the social use of the word to mean scandalous, an outrageous party can be annoyingly decent. For example, "That party was outrageous." "Yes, I especially enjoyed the watercress sandwiches." Or if they are in reference to Mr Bane's parties: "Man, that party was totally awesome." "I know right, totally outrageous!"" He looked at Tessa waiting for her reply.

"Hm, I was wrong: not all of your time is spent practicing flirting in the mirror, you memorize urban dictionary definitions, too. Have you considered gardening as a pastime instead?"

For the first time, Will laughed, genuinely and out loud. Tessa's eyes widened, and she wondered if he was still drunk from last night.

**Please review, because I really don't know if this chapter was good, or if I should change my style etc. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed or even just read it! Btw I updated early because I have loads of homework over the weekend so my next update will be next Sunday, not the coming one! Sorry!**

**To SilverCarstairs, you are so sweet, you literally made my day with your reviews, thank you so much, p.s. I read your profile and I fan-girled for at least 30 minutes. No joke. **

**To A, thanks for your consistent reviewing, you seriously help me decide how to write the next chapter. **

**Finally, to DimitriBelikov2000, also thank you for your consistency, and you really encourage me to carry on with your hyper reviews :p**

**Disclaimer: All the characters belong to Cassandra Clare, did you guys know she used to write fanfiction too?**

Previously

"_Hm, I was wrong: not all of your time is spent practicing flirting in the mirror, you memorize urban dictionary definitions, too. Have you considered gardening as a pastime instead?" _

_For the first time, Will laughed, genuinely and out loud. Tessa's eyes widened, and she wondered if he was still drunk from last night. _

_(The following Monday.)_

Tessa walked through the less daunting halls of Inferna, towards her English class, holding her books against her chest as if to shield herself from the bursting crowd around her. If she stopped to listen for a second, she would notice that she could hear nothing but the pounding of feet and a low buzz of murmurs, but Tessa could barely stay on her feet, the only thing keeping her from falling, much like everyone else, was the person in front of her.

She walked into the class, glad she didn't have to worry about any more introductions now the first week was over. It hadn't been quite as bad as she'd thought, but she still missed the familiarity of New York, no matter the cost. As she walked in, she noticed Will at the back of the class, with girls all around him, she rolled her eyes and walked to her desk.

Tessa sat back in her chair, and closed her eyes, thankful for the few minutes before the teacher came into the classroom. It turned out to be seconds before she felt a tap on her hand. She cracked her eyes open and looked over at Sophie.

"Long day?" Sophie looked understanding.

Tessa nodded, "I'm just tired, how was your day?"

"Good, I guess, I'm just looking forward to lunch! A break from all this work."

The teacher walked in, and Tessa quickly pulled her books out as the teacher announced a new project:

"For a week, you will be working in pairs to make a poster on A Tale of Two Cities, it must include the main character descriptions, a basic plot summary and evaluation of the text, with quotes, on a theme of your choosing. I will be putting you into pairs, and I think we can just do it according to how you sit, so Will with Aline, Tessa with Henry, Sophie with Jasmine..." The teacher went on and Tessa looked to her right to where Henry sat.

He had bright orange hair, and his face was soft and innocent, child-like. Tessa couldn't help softening just looking at him; he clumsily pushed his glasses up his nose and looked around at her. Tessa smiled gentely at him and held her hand out, "I'm Tessa." He looked at her hand and then took it in his smiling back at her, "Henry." His hand was warm in hers and she smiled again, and let go of his hand.

A paper note suddenly fluttered onto her desk, and Tessa looked at Sophie who gestured to it.

**Check out who's checking you out. I'll give you a clue: he's at the back and surrounded by girls.**

Tessa rolled her eyes, but couldn't help subtly looking back to where Will's ice eyes were on her, she shivered and quickly turned back around, feeling a burning sensation on her back where she knew he was still staring at her. She fidgeted for a while before getting fed up: why was he _glaring_ at her? What had she done? Tessa turned back to face him meeting his glare with her own, determined to stare him down. He stared back at her for a few seconds, then his eyes shot to Henry and he turned to the nearest girl. Tessa fumed for a second then turned away as well, satisfied with her victory yet still annoyed with his blatant staring.

After that, the lesson passed fairly quickly, Tessa and Henry discussed their project, deciding when they would meet up and splitting the work. The one time Tessa looked back at Will, Aline was practically sitting on him, and almost purring as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. Tessa had quickly turned away, her cheeks flaming, though what for, she couldn't really decide.

Tessa slowly went through the motions of her day, seeing Will in the hallways and always with a girl close by. By the time lunch came around, Tessa couldn't have been more relieved. She met Sophie in the common room and they made their way to the cafeteria chatting about who had the most awful day.

"Ok, you win: you had Mr Langly!" Sophie laughed, looking amusedly at Tessa.

"He is the most awful teacher! He creeps me out every time I walk in the classroom; you think it's going to get better but it just doesn't!" Tessa grinned back at Sophie. They grabbed some sandwiches and took a seat around the edges of the lunchroom.

Sophie opened up her sandwich and was about to take a bite when she saw Cecily Herondale walking up to their table. Cecily was a nice person, but she had never approached Sophie before and Sophie couldn't understand what she wanted now. She glanced across the table to Tessa, and gulped her sandwich down, ready to defend Tessa no matter what Cecily said. Sophie didn't know Cecily very well, but whatever was making her walk here, couldn't be good.

Cecily stopped at the edge of the table and glanced at Sophie nodding politely and smiling slightly. She turned her attention to Tessa, who was already staring at her, eyes wide. "Don't worry I don't bite!" Cecily laughed slightly, but Tessa just glanced at Sophie, awkwardly, "Um... ok well, I just wanted to... apologise, actually," she smiled again, hesitantly.

Tessa stared at her completely dumbfounded. "What?"

"You know, for last week, in math? I ignored you, very rudely."

Tessa gulped once before replying, "Oh, um, it's fine. You were probably just having a bad day."

"I was, honestly, but still I shouldn't have been so rude, especially on your first day..." Sophie glanced behind Cecily and saw Jem staring, instantly she realized Jem had forced Cecily to come her and apologies. Sophie smiled slightly, impressed by Jem's innate goodness.

"Apology accepted." Tessa smiled at Cecily, who grinned back before turning and walking back to Jem, Will, and Will's mob of annoying bimbos.

Tessa strolled out of the lunch hall, Sophie walking next to her.

"Tessa." A sharp voice called out, halting her mid-step. Tessa looked up to see a girl with fair, blond hair and deep brown eyes stroll up to her. She would have been beautiful if not for the air of superiority surrounding her. As she approached her eyes flicked to Sophie, "Can I talk to Tessa in private?" Sophie glanced quickly at Tessa, who nodded.

"I'll see you later!" Sophie carried on looking at Tessa, almost apologetically. The girl watched Sophie walk away, not saying a word until she had turned the corner and there was no one left in the corridor.

Jessamine smiled at Tessa, but she didn't even try to hide the malice between the sick sweetness. "So you're Tessa?" She was still smiling.

"Yeah, um sorry you are?" Tessa wasn't trying very hard to be polite, her guards instantly on alert by Sophie's expression and that _smile._

"Jessamine. We don't have any classes together, but I've heard a lot about you!"

"So, can I help you with something?"

That smile grew. "Yes, actually, wow you really get straight to the point don't you?" Tessa just raised her eyebrows expectantly. "You know Will?" Tessa nodded, weary already, "Don't."

"Excuse me?"

"Stop knowing him. Don't hang out with him. Look, you seem...cute, but Will is an elegant boy he needs someone like..."

"You?" Tessa gritted her teeth, annoyed beyond comparison.

"Exactly!" Smile. "I have to go, lets keep this conversation between us?" Tessa stared wide-eyed as Jessamine clicked her heels away.


	6. Chapter 6

**Firstly thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited or followed! You all rock! Secondly, I am genuinely sorry about this chapter, it's probably really bad because I rushed because I had no spare time but wanted to at least get something up... I hope it's not too bad and doesn't put you off the story! The next chapter should be better...depending on the amount of work I have... **

**WessaRules- I'm glad you like my updates, and that you came back! Tessa isn't walking away from Will, but they probably will argue quite a lot!**

**Xxnicoleherondale- I will definitely keep writing! Thanks for your awesome review, I'm so glad everyone likes the banter it takes me ages! And yeah, I tried to make Jessamine as realistic as possible!**

**Lili- Love the name, it's so pretty I might use it if that's ok? And as I said, I am definitely continuing writing! Thanks for reviewing, it was really encouraging!**

**A- I'm glad you like Jem, I thought it was like him to bring out the best in people and just be a general good influence on them!**

**DimitriBelikov2000- I hadn't really thought about Aline that much, honestly she's just this random person, I'm not making this a crossover so she isn't very important!**

**Yoitsyourstruly- You're right about Will, but I really wanted Tessa to stare him down, mainly to make the point that this wasn't a fanfic where he would be amazing and better than her in everything... she was also having a hard day... Also thanks so much for your help!**

** .Nancy- Thanks for reviewing, I'm glad you like the story!**

**Disclaimer: Can I do one for the rest of the story? Does anyone know? Cassandra owns all the characters!**

_Previously..._

_That smile grew. "Yes, actually, wow you really get straight to the point don't you?" Tessa just raised her eyebrows expectantly. "You know Will?" Tessa nodded, weary already, "Don't."_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_Stop knowing him. Don't hang out with him. Look, you seem...cute, but Will is an elegant boy he needs someone like..."_

"_You?" Tessa gritted her teeth, annoyed beyond comparison. _

"_Exactly!" Smile. "I have to go, lets keep this conversation between us?" Tessa stared wide-eyed as Jessamine clicked her heels away. _

_(A week later)_

Tessa sighed as she curled her legs up beneath her, settling down with one of her favorite books in her favorite place: the library. She leaned her head back for a second, and closed her eyes, letting herself bathe in the relaxing environment. She almost wanted to fall asleep then and there; school was so stressful, _everything_ was so stressful, it all just needed to stop, and fall away. A book could help with that.

Tessa quickly got sucked into the book, it was like a whirlpool: she couldn't help it, and she didn't want to. She often tried to imagine herself writing a book, but it was a fantasy, authors were geniuses, Tessa was _normal_. She vaguely wondered when being normal had become such a bad thing: for so long when they were younger, everyone wanted to be normal and the same, now everyone did anything to stand out. Maybe because everyone tried so hard to stand out, it had become normal to try to, or to want to. Then again, maybe people thought the only way to achieve big things was to stand out.

Tessa sighed again, concentrating on the book, until the world really did fall away, and she had no concept of time or the place. She couldn't even see the words on the pages, she had been taken to a different world and she lived by that time. She glanced up as she felt the cushions next to her dip slightly under someone else's weight. It was a girl she hadn't seen before, Tessa smiled slightly at her and looked back at her book.

The girl cleared her throat and Tessa looked up again, meeting her eyes. The girl looked shy, and had a delicate, slim face, with a sprinkle of freckles across her nose and stylish, nerd glasses.

"Um... what are you reading?" The girl asked, her black fringe dipping into her eyes slightly.

"Great Expectations, what about you?" Tessa glanced at her book, not recognizing it. The girl shook her head, her short wavy hair swaying slightly as she did so.

"Um... you probably won't know it, it's called Anne of Green Gables?"

"I've heard of it what's it like?" Tessa was genuinely curious, "I'm Tessa, by the way." She stuck out her hand for the girl to shake.

"Ellie." She said taking Tessa's hand. "It's really good, I don't actually read too much but I really like it!"

"Yeah, I was wondering why I hadn't seen you around the library." Tessa replied,

"Yeah, um, well I was just wondering if it was true that you and Will Herondale are dating?"

Tessa's mouth dropped open. She stared at Ellie. "Why? We aren't, but why did you think that?"

Ellie blushed and quickly said, "Oh, it doesn't matter, sorry to disturb you." She started to get up and walk away.

"Wait, just a second, you aren't disturbing me. Who said we were dating?"

"Um, no one I just was wondering, it doesn't matter."

"But you said 'is it true' as if someone had told you something?" Tessa persisted.

Ellie sighed. "It's nothing big, but there are just some rumors about you and Will, it's nothing big, honestly, just some school-yard gossip." The girl turned and quickly walked away.

Tessa watched her walk away, still shocked. She turned slowly and sat back down, having stood up to stop Ellie from leaving. Tessa struggled to understand what had happened: her and Will hardly spent any time together, especially at school, and she definitely didn't have a _crush_ on him. She wouldn't be like the other girls who threw themselves at him.

Tessa dropped back into her seat, frowning, but she shook her head; it was just one girl. She probably had seen them talking and had made her own assumptions.

Tessa shoved her books back into her locker, and made her way out of school, it was finally the end of the day and Tessa was in a surprisingly good mood. She strolled down the pavement towards her house, face turned towards the sun, and small smile lighting up her face. Tessa didn't even know why she was in a good mood; she hadn't had a particularly good day, maybe it was the sun pouring onto her skin like melted chocolate.

"Enjoying the sun?" Tessa cracked her eyes open, and glanced to her side. Smiling widely when she met silver, shining eyes. She opened her eyes all the way and looked at Jem, taking in the sight of the sun on his silver-white, beautiful hair, and his eyes lit up with mischief. Her eyes trailed down his strong jaw, and she smiled wondering why anyone would dream about angels, when there was one in reality.

"Yes, I am." Tessa smiled again, her white teeth glimmering. "The world feels good today."

Jem laughed. "The world feels good? Who are you, and what have you done with my Tessa?"

Tessa couldn't help but blush slightly. He had said _my Tessa_, she snorted at herself, shaking her head. Jem raised an eyebrow, and she laughed again.

Jem shook his head. "You could light up the darkest cavern with only your laugh."

Tessa laughed, "Yeah, right, someone's feeling melodramatic today!"

Jem laughed, and they walked in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, relishing the pleasant mood, and sunlight.

"We should do something." Tessa said suddenly.

Jem looked at her curiously, "Like what?"

"A picnic. We have to do a picnic!"

Jem laughed. "A picnic? Why? Who with?"

"To celebrate the return of the sun, in this dreary life! Call whomever you want! We can do it with just you and me! I don't mind!"

"Where?"

"My garden?"

Jem stared at her for a second, "Are you serious?"

"YES!"

"Okay, I'll call Will and Sophie."

"Great, I'll make sandwiches and bring drinks! Tell them to be here as soon as possible!"

"Will your brother be ok with this?"

Tessa hesitated, and then shrugged, "I think he's out."

Once they had reached Tessa's house, and Jem had called Will and Sophie, Jem and Tessa set to work making sandwiches.

"What are we making?" Jem looked at Tessa, the sleeves of his loose white V-neck rolled up.

"Peanut butter and jelly."

Jem smiled, "Ok, Will and Sophie said they would be here in 10 minutes."

"Great." Tessa handed Jem some bread and put jars of peanut butter and jelly between them. "Lets make 8 sandwiches?"

"Yeah, that should be enough, especially since we have all that fruit!"

Tessa smiled, "Fruit is healthy! Plus, I love peaches!"

Jem laughed, "True, and peaches are great!" Tessa glanced over at his hands, momentarily mesmerized by the methodic movement of his hands, they almost looked vulnerable in how delicate and graceful they were. Jem caught her looking and quickly looked away, blushing. Tessa melted inside, overcome with Jem's sincere softness.

They worked in silence for the few minutes until all the sandwiches were done, and Tessa went to get a blanket, and some drinks.

While she was upstairs she heard her phone ringing. She glanced at the screen, smiling when she saw it was Nate.

"Hey!"

"_Tessa, I have been trying to call you for ages! Why haven't you picked up?"_

Tessa winced, realizing her phone had been on silent. "Sorry, my pho-"

"_You know what? It doesn't matter!" _Tessa realized Nate sounded frantic; he was speaking so fast she barely managed to catch his words. _"Tessie, they are coming._"

**Sorry for Tessa's random mood swings, for those of you who don't know, the sun decided to make an appearance in England! Woooo. **

**Also, I need to know how people feel about Tessa's thoughts on school? Too negative? Shall I carry on like that, obviously with some good days... Anyway review any thoughts or PM me!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm so sorry, forgive me for not updating! I just have so much to do, all the time. If our teachers don't give us homework, there's still an essay to edit or complete, or work to catch up on, or a project to do! I am slowly dying!**

**Thanks for the reviews, and just thought I should mention that the last chapter was a filler chapter! **

**SilverCarstairs- I'm glad you're back as well! Unfortunately, no 'they' don't...you'll see soon enough, hopefully you'll like it better... the Jessa will have to go... Sorry! **

**A- I love you! Your review made my day in ways you can't imagine! And wow on the words about hell...I didn't think there was that much suspense, thanks!**

**Clocktwerkprince- Your review also made my day it was so sweet and I'm so sorry I didn't update!**

**Willa Lightdale- THAT'S A BRILLIANT IDEA! I will totally incorporate that! Thanks for the idea! I hope you like it! It will come in mre later, but I did a bit in his pov in this chapter.**

**Guest- I'm so glad you're enjoying, and please tell me what you think about this chapter! **

**...**

**Previously...**

_While she was upstairs she heard her phone ringing. She glanced at the screen, smiling when she saw it was Nate._

"_Hey!"_

"_**Tessa, I have been trying to call you for ages! Why haven't you picked up?"**_

_Tessa winced, realizing her phone had been on silent. "Sorry, my pho-"_

"_**You know what? It doesn't matter!"**__ Tessa realized Nate sounded frantic; he was speaking so fast she barely managed to catch his words.__** "Tessie, they are coming."**_

**...**

Tessa's breath froze where it was, choking her, making her cold all over her body, as if water had been poured over her. She almost dropped the phone from where it was still held at her ear, but she tightened her fingers around it desperately.

"_Tessie? Are you ok?"_ Nate still sounded frantic, but concern laced his voice when Tessa didn't answer. "_Tessa. Are you still there?"_

Tessa closed her eyes. "Yes." She started breathing deeply, trying to slow her heart rate.

"_Tessa. It's ok, they can't do anything to you, I won't let them. I promised you this would stop when we left, and it did._" Nate tried to make his voice sound firm, but could almost sense Tessa panicking through the phone. He tried again. "_Tessa, nothing is going to happen to you. Are you listening to me? Nothing."_

He heard Tessa inhale deeply and then: "What do we do?"

He smiled slightly, in relief; she was calming down. "_I'm not sure, right now just stay calm. They aren't here yet; we still have time._"

"Nate. Are we goi-"

"_I don't know, Tessie. We have two days until they arrive, we can decide later._"

"Nate, I need an answer now: are we going to run again?" Tessa sounded firm, but a quiver in her voice gave away her real fear.

There was a pause, and Tessa opened her eyes. "_It's your call Tessa. I'll do whatever you choose, no questions asked. You already know what I think."_

Tessa closed her eyes again, but just for a second, opening them after a second. "We run."

Nate closed his eyes, he was relieved she had chosen that, but he was as reluctant to run as she was. _"Ok, we'll leave tonight. Where are we going?"_

"We'll leave in the afternoon, and we just need to go somewhere they won't know we are. Anywhere."

"_Aunt Harriet's?"_

"Perfect. She's a three-hour drive away."

"_I'll call her and let her know we are coming."_

There was a short silence before they quickly said 'goodbye' and hung up.

...

Jem glanced up as Tessa walked down the stairs, worry pushing his eyebrows together.

"Are you okay?" Tessa looked up quickly, and then smiled and nodded. Jem could tell it was forced, but he didn't push the matter, knowing everyone had their own secrets and there was no point forcing it out of her. He licked peanut butter off a finger, and smiled. "Will called, they should be here any second."

Tessa forced another smile. "Great."

She glanced outside, and was almost surprised when she realized the sun was still up; it had felt like hours since she'd proposed the picnic, and she couldn't imagine being happy after what she'd just found out. She quickly pushed all thoughts of her past away; she would not ruin the picnic and everyone's mood.

The doorbell rang, and Tessa sighed in relief, she would have a second to recompose herself. She walked slowly out of the kitchen and down the corridor to the door, rolling her eyes when the doorbell rang again.

...

Will waited impatiently by the door, rolling his eyes when it was finally flung open. Tessa stood there, glaring at him already. He just smirked, in that way he knew annoyed her; it had the intended effect, her glare increased in intensity, and she switched it to Sophie, softening her gaze.

"Hey Soph!" Will quirked an eyebrow, Tessa sounded weird, almost nervous.

"Hey Tessa, Jem said you were hosting a picnic? I brought lemonade!" Sophie smiled, holding up the bottle.

"Great, come in!" She was starting to sound more like herself, and Will ignored his earlier intuitions.

He walked into her house slowly, taking in the warm cream walls, and the wooden floors. "You must have missed me greatly to decide to throw a picnic just to see me. Remember, Tess, you just have to ask." Will grinned.

Tessa glared at him again, but he could see a spark of amusement in her eyes. "The day I ask you to come over is the day pigs will fly."

Will and Sophie followed Tessa out into her garden where Jem had already set out the blanket and sandwiches.

"Well, I guess my next project is making pig-wings." Tessa snorted but didn't turn around. Will smirked.

...

Tessa quickly grabbed her essentials, dumping them into a duffel bag, as she raced around her room. She glanced around her room, making sure she had everything, and quickly ticking them off in her head; a spare shirt and a pair of jeans, toothbrush, hairbrush, toothpaste, jumper, coat, phone, and some books. She had had the worst time trying to choose which books to take, Tessa imagined it was like choosing your favorite child, and eventually she had decided to take enough money to buy any books she didn't have.

Tessa knew she might never be back in this house, and she fought back tears thinking of the life she had built for herself, and how she would have to leave it behind. She would never see Sophie again. She would never see Jem. She would never see Will. In a way, the picnic had been like a goodbye to them, and although she hadn't been able to relax, she'd had the most fun she was going to have for a while.

Tessa quickly shook her head, and grabbed her duffel, looking around her room once again, and then walking out of her house before she changed her mind. Nate and her would take care of selling the house later, but for now she just needed to leave. Tessa gulped hard, letting the fear overcome her for only 3 seconds before pushing it back, as far as it would go, and refusing to think about it.

Nate was waiting in the car outside, and she climbed into the passenger seat, buckling herself in. Tessa glanced at Nate, searching his face with concern etched on hers. She sighed softly when she saw the fear and anxiety marked on him, but she couldn't do anything now. All they could do was get to Aunt Harriet, and plan from there.

"I brought some snacks for the journey; it's going to be a long ride."

Tessa just nodded, and leaned her head against the seat, breathing deeply. She felt the car rumble to a start, and start moving. She opened her eyes again, and looked out the window, watching the trees and houses speed past, as once again she left her life behind.

...

The journey to Aunt Harriet's was uneventful. They barely spoke to each other, but the silence wasn't strained; they were both buried under their own thoughts, and other than a quick stop for lunch, they stayed on the road, and didn't stop until they reached their destination.

When they reached Aunt Harriet's it was almost 8 o' clock, and both Tessa and Nate were exhausted from traveling all day. Nate looked out of the window as they rolled to a stop in front of the small, timid house. Tessa smiled, remembering the few times she had come here, although she couldn't see the house properly she could imagine the red bricks, light brown front door and soft grass at the front. She got out of the car, and grabbing her duffel bag, walked up the stone path to the front door.

Nate walked up behind her and they exchanged a quick look before ringing the bell. Nate chuckled softly as he heard the cheery bell sequence. The door opened slowly to reveal Aunt Harriet; she looked like Tessa with brown hair cascading in soft waves to the middle of her back, and warm almond-shaped brown eyes. She had laugh lines next to her eyes, which crinkled delicately as she smiled at them.

She took a step forward and embraced Tessa. "Tessa, how are you? It's been so long, I barely recognized you!"

Tessa smiled, welcoming the warmth, and squeezing her aunt as tightly as she could. Nate was next, although Tessa couldn't hear the words exchanged between them, she saw the bright smile light up Nate's face. They followed Aunt Harriet into her house, and to the kitchen: both Nate and Tessa were starving having eaten nothing but a sandwich all day.

Aunt Harriet heated some lasagne, and they all sat at the table to eat. Aunt Harriet stared at them for a second before talking.

"So, how come you decided to visit?"

Nate glanced at Tessa, and popped lasagne into his mouth, forcing her to speak. She shot him a glare, "We...missed you."

Aunt Harriet rolled her eyes. "Try again."

Tessa's shoulders slumped. "We haven't seen you in ages, why is it so hard to believe we missed you?"

"It's not, but you haven't visited in ages, not since your mother died." Tessa looked away, sucking in a quick breath. "Sorry, I know you don't like talking about her, I don't either; she was my sister. Does your dad know you're here?"

Tessa hesitated, then nodded quickly. Aunt Harriet snorted, "Yeah right. Where is he? America?" Tessa nodded again. "Do you want me to call him?"

Tessa's eyes widened. "No. He doesn't need to know, Nate's my guardian now."

"He needs to know, Tessie." Aunt Harriet spoke softly. Tessa shook her head, and when Aunt Harriet looked at Nate, he shook his head as well. "Fine, but if he asks me I'm not going to lie."

"Aunt Harriet, just say we aren't here!" Nate burst out, sounding whiny.

"No. I won't lie. Look if he calls, I won't bring it up, but if he asks me...I have to tell him. He's your father he deserves to know!"

**I need you to vote on whether you want Sophie and Jem together, or something else with Jem? Thanks!**

**This is really cheesy, but I need to do a dedication for this chapter. **

**It's for my best friend, Jaz. Don't ask why, but I couldn't stop thinking about you while writing this... not in a dark way, because this chapter starts of really dark, but every sentence I wrote, I felt like you were there with me. Love you, Jaz, no matter what!**


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